Entries for the
Canberra 'Gifted Awareness Week' Symposium 2026
Poetry Competition
are now open!
This year's theme is
Hope.
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“Hope” is the thing with feathers
By Emily Dickinson
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“Hope” is the thing with feathers -
That perches in the soul -
And sings the tune without the words -
And never stops - at all -
And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -
And sore must be the storm -
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm -
I’ve heard it in the chillest land -
And on the strangest Sea -
Yet - never - in Extremity,
It asked a crumb - of me.
What is hope?
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Entries for the Canberra 'Gifted Awareness Week' Symposium 2026 Poetry Competition are now open!
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Canberra 'Gifted Awareness Week' Symposium Poetry Competition seeks to provide a platform for Australian students to demonstrate their creative talents in the pursuit of excellence.
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Key Dates
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Entries open on Friday April 3 2026.
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Entries close on Friday May 8 2026.
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Winners will be announced at the Canberra 'Gifted Awareness Week' Symposium on Friday 22 May 2026.
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​Theme
The theme of this year's competition is 'hope'.
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Categories
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Junior - 3-8 year olds
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Intermediate - 9-13 year olds
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Senior - 14-18 year olds
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Prizes
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Prizes will be awarded in each category including one winner and highly commended per category.
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Winners from each category will receive a $50 book voucher.
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Highly Commended will receive a $25 book voucher.
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Vouchers may be redeemed online or in-person from the Book Cow in Kingston, ACT.
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What is your hope for the future?
Entry instructions
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​​​Step 1 - Pay entry fee.
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Step 2 - Complete registration form linked here.
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Step 3 - Email poem to connect@brightandbeyond.com.au
Meet The Judges
Alan Brough
Alan Brough was born in New Zealand and is quite a bit older than he'd like to be. Alan has always loved books and, from an early age, wanted to be a writer. Then he and his Dad went to see Star Wars and Alan decided that, actually, he really, really, really, really, really wanted to be an actor. ​In 1995, Alan moved to Australian and, after having been an actor for a while, realised there wasn't that much work for a 6'4" guy with a slightly lopsided face and thick curly hair so he tried his hand at directing, broadcasting, composing, dancing (true!), singing and, in an unexpected turn of events, being a professional music nerd as team captain on ABC's Spicks and Specks. Recently, Alan got around to being a writer and is the author of Charlie and the War Against the Grannies and Charlie and the Karaoke Cockroaches. One day he hopes to have a bio that includes phrases like 'so successful he recently bought a solid gold toilet'.
![IMG_2703[26]_edited.jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a15771_569e0ccbfcd244a4b944eefe28864ee4~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_210,h_217,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/IMG_2703%5B26%5D_edited.jpg)
Levi Smallcombe
Levi Smallcombe is a 17-year-old globally gifted, radical accelerant. He is currently undertaking his third year of tertiary study at the University of Newcastle, studying towards a Bachelor of Biomedical Science. Levi was identified as a gifted child in early childhood and from Years 3 to 6 was taught by Helen Baber in clustered and accelerated English and Mathematics classes with other gifted and talented students. Levi recalls great enjoyment of Rocket Writing, the daily practice of writing in response to a prompt, the purpose being to increase fluency and students' enjoyment and motivation in writing by focusing on the process, not the product. Levi left school at Year 7 to homeschool, completing six years of secondary education in three years. During his tertiary studies, Levi has learnt five languages, taken up passions of the arts in classical piano, historic art and architecture, fictional and philosophical writing, and is concurrently writing his first novel.
Cate Whittle
Cate Whittle is a children’s author, mum and grandma, long-time primary school teacher, and life-long learner with an insatiable curiosity about the world. Since 2016, Cate has published nine books for young readers, including junior fiction and middle grade adventures. Her novels are mostly about magic and mystery, but filled with adventure and just a tiny touch of mayhem. There are often dragons. Cate was lucky enough to live and travel in many exotic and exciting places as a child, but has lived in Australia since her early teens. She is still wondering what to do when she grows up, is searching for the wardrobe door that leads to Narnia, and spends a lot of time daydreaming. Cate's most recent books include two fully illustrated stories for young readers about Millie, the cutest puppy in the world: New Home, and Dance Concert, both of which look at family, friends, kindness, and the need to fit in, and Starberries and Kee, a solar-punk, climate-fiction adventure for middle grade readers.
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The Fine Print
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​​Eligibility
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This competition is only open to Australian residents and Australian citizens living overseas.
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Only people aged 4-18 years of age on the date of submission may enter.
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Poems must be no more than 1000 words in total. Title is not included in word count.
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Poems must only be submitted via the process advised.
- ​​Poems must be submitted in MS word, PDF, or MP4 only.
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Poems must reflect the theme of 'hope'.
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Poems entered in other competitions are ineligible to be entered.
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Conditions of entry​
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Entries are limited to two (2) poems per poet.
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Entries must be submitted by the following process:
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Step 1 - Pay entry fee.
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Step 2 - Complete registration form linked here.
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Step 3 - Email poem to connect@brightandbeyond.com.au
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Poems must be submitted via the above process. Entries received without the entry fee (Step 1) and/or registration (Step 2) will not be ineligible.
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Poems must be the poet’s own work (any excerpts from or rewording of another poem must be appropriately referenced). Poems deemed to be works of plagiarism will be ineligible. NB. all poems are checked for plagiarism prior to judging.
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Copyright of the poem remains with the poet.
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By submitting, you give Bright and Beyond Education Resources the permission to publish your poem and/or quote excerpts at the Canberra 'Gifted Awareness Week' Symposium, and in our external communications.
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Entries are judged anonymously. The Judges decisions are final. Due to the volume of submissions, individual feedback cannot be provided.
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Judges reserve the right to not award a prize.
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All personal details provided will be kept confidential except for winners and highly commended. Winners and highly commended names and ages will be published.
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Entrants may be asked to assist in media publicity in the form of comments and/or photographs.
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Types of entries
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Entries may only be individual.
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Poems may be written or performed. The competition encourages creativity, so all forms of poetry are eligible.
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Entry Fees
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Each entry into the Canberra 'Gifted Awareness Week' Symposium Poetry Competition incurs a $10 fee.
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Refunds are not provided for unused entries.
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Hardship requests for fee waiver will be considered by emailing connect@brightandbeyond.com.au.
Announcement of winners
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Winners and highly commended entries will be contacted as soon after 22 May 2026 as possible.
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Winners and highly commended are announced during Canberra 'Gifted Awareness Week' Symposium on May 22 2026.
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Winners and highly commended will be published after May 25 2026.
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Due to the expected volume of entries, unsuccessful applicants will not be contacted, so please check the competition website after 25 May 2026.​​​​​
What do you hope for your future?
Thank you to the competition sponsors
